Category 12 Brewing Elemental Series Red Sour (#23) Sour / Wild Ale at 5.4% ABV (C$10.14 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, packaged on 28-Feb-2018, acquired 17-Apr-2018, reviewed 20-Apr-2018)
Appearance: clear red-tinged medium amber with one finger of loose ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel malt, field berries, herbal, vanilla, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter and mildly tart finish. (4/5)
Unlike a lot of sours, this actually smells primarily like beer. Unfortunately, the beer it smells like is an Irish Red, or maybe an ESB. I think I get what they’re going for here, but it suffers by comparison to other more hoppy sours I’ve had. Ultimately it seems to me that sour works better with citrus and tropical fruit hops, than it does with caramel malt. Good, and an interesting change of pace, but ultimately not one I’d go back to. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
